A large portion of the metallic alloys presently in use are processed by solidification casting, at least initially. The metallic alloy is melted and cast into a metal or ceramic mold, where it solidifies. The mold is stripped away, and the cast metallic article is ready for use or for further processing.
Micro-molding is known for producing various articles having microscale features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,838 to Lastovich entitled “Method of forming a mold and molding a micro-device” discloses a method of forming a device including a plurality of micron or sub-micron sized features. A master having a surface contour defining a plurality of features is provided. The surface contour of the master is coated with at least one layer of material to form a shell. The master is removed from the shell to form a negative image of the surface contour in the shell. The negative image in the shell is filled with a material, for example, polycarbonate, polyacrylic, or polystyrene, to form a device having features substantially the same as the master. The negative image may be filled using injection molding, compression molding, embossing or any other compatible technique. Although Lastovich discloses a useful process and related articles for certain applications, the method disclosed is only capable of providing line-of-sight molded articles. What is needed is a low cost method of forming integral articles having non-line-of-site contours.